In the digital age, there’s so much entertainment, it’s impossible to be bored, anymore. There’s so much stimulation and so much television that it’s also impossible to watch everything. I have a long list of shows I intend to see soon (Glow, The Handmaid’s Tale, Punisher), but out of the TV I did manage to watch in between many, many, many movies, these are five of the series I especially enjoyed.
What were your favorite Shows and Series of 2017? Let me know in the comments!
5. The Walking Dead (AMC)
The show that audiences complained became too melodramatic went head first in to all out war this year, exploring a Rick Grimes who’d had enough being pushed around by the vicious nomad known as Negan. “The Walking Dead” season eight hasn’t been perfect, but it’s delivered on a lot of what we love about the past four seasons. Rick and Daryl are a one two punch of badassery, Carol is a warrior, and Carl sacrifices once again for his clan at Alexandria, focusing on the bigger pictures, and conveying more mercy than Rick Grimes, most times. I still love “The Walking Dead” and it’s still an engaging and engrossing horror drama.
4. Lore (Amazon)
What was a creepy but intelligent podcast, has turned in to a creepy but intelligent horror anthology for Amazon. The limited live action anthology from Amazon is a consistently touching and eerie series that touches upon a lot of the lore that made America and the world as a whole. Much of the urban legends and horrific tales that unfold have become the foundation for many other horror tales, constantly retold, and re-visited in new forms. I loved it.
3. Andi Mack (Disney Channel)
Sadly a better “Girl Meets World” reboot than “Girl Meets World” ever was, “Andi Mack” has consistently impressed with a series that features a main tale about a mom coming to terms with a daughter she had at a very young age, an overzealous best friend who has an impulse to compete with everyone, a flaky single dad, a pair of grandparents who are of mixed race, and a best friend who figures out that he may have feelings for his best friend Jonah, who happens to be in a romantic relationship with his lifelong pal Peyton Elizabeth Lee’s Andi. It has every chance to be over sentimental and sappy, but it’s a very subtle, very sweet, and often very moving look at the self discovery of a very engaging young girl known as Andi.
2. Better Things (FX)
Even in spite of the big controversy with show co-creator and co-writer Louis CK, “Better Things” hasn’t overshadowed by his crimes, and has continued its course as a moving examination of a mother and her three daughters. Pamela Adlon is consistently funny, and excellent as Sam, a divorcee and actress approaching her middle age. She’s straddled with three very hard to love girls, all of whom help her find some sense of herself as the season goes on. Perhaps the best episode of season two involves a mock funeral where we get some sense of understanding as to why Sam’s two older daughters are so obnoxious
1. Stranger Things 2 (Netflix)
Even better than the first season, but still able to stand alongside the freshman outing, Netflix’s “Stranger Things 2” lived up to every inch of hype it mustered up on its first trailer. “Stranger Things 2” is a different direction for the series, as the dreaded upside down world begins leaking more and more in to our own reality. There are a slew of storylines and new characters introduced, all of which never feel sloppy or unresolved. The second season goes in to bold new directions, progresses our characters even further than before, and further fleshes out our heroes and heroines as flawed, noble, loyal, and courageous individuals prone to making mistakes, but always coming out on top in the end. The final scene of season two is one of the most touching yet menacing closing moments of the series yet.